Along with HTML and CSS, JavaScript is one of the three largest content producing languages online. It is essentially a way to add interactivity to websites. It is used to create interactive effects on web pages, and is supported by all modern web browsers. Java and JavaScript have some similarities, but are not really related.

The 3 main languages

Java is one of the most popular tools online, and has been since its inception 20 years ago. The latest stable release was made in June 2015.

Treehouse online platform offers a JavaScript Category containing 16 courses, 16 workshops, and 1 conference. There is also an extensive JavaScript learning track. The JavaScript track introduces students to the JavaScript language, jQuery – the popular JavaScript framework – and the complete lowdown on adding interactivity in a browser. Once students are comfortable with browser-based JavaScript, students will learn Node.js, a popular JavaScript platform for writing, as well as using JavaScript applications outside of the browser.

Examples of courses are Ajax Basics, Node.js Basics, Ember.js, and JavaScript Loops, Arrays, and Objects.

Course Review: jQuery Basics

This is a course taught by Andrew Chalkley. It covers what jQuery is, why you’d want to use it, and how to make it part of your projects. jQuery Basics is heavily project-based, and students will build several projects. This will help them gain confidence, and add a sophisticated level of JavaScripted panache to any website they may want to work on.

This is a course with several prerequisites. Treehouse recommends that Students who are interested in enrolling in this course should take two courses beforehand: JavaScript Basics, and JavaScript Loops, Arrays and Objects.

jQuery

The topics covered in this course are:

• Introduction to jQuery
• Creating a Simple Lightbox
• Creating a Mobile Drop Down Menu
• Creating a Password Confirmation Form
• Creating a Simple Drawing Application

This course is heavy in the creation department. It is a hands-on course which gets students ready to work with jQuery independently. It runs approximately five hours, and has six modules. These modules include lectures, coding challenges, and a variety of assessment quizzes.

About the Instructor: Andrew Chalkley

Instructor Andrew Chalkley

Chalkley is a developer, technical writer, and co-founder of Secret Monkey Science. He is a polyglot programmer, and he takes pleasure in using the right tools for the job. He has worked online for his entire professional life, and in his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family and sticking opponents in Halo 4.

Course Review: Express Basics

This is a beginner course, taught by Huston Hedinger. It explores a web framework made for Node, named Express. Hedinger’s course teaches students how to build an Express website from the ground up.

Instructor Huston Hedinger

It is an intermediate course, with a number of prerequisites. Before enrolling in this course, Treehouse recommends that students take the following courses:

• JavaScript Basics
• JavaScript Loops, Arrays and Objects
• Node.js Basics
• Object-Oriented JavaScript
• npm Basics

Once students are familiar with the concepts and techniques taught in those courses, they will be ready to learn Express and immediately begin implementing it.

Hedinger’s JavaScript course runs over three hours in length. It has six modules which include lectures and code challenges, as well as various assessment quizzes.

About the Instructor: Huston Hedinger

Hedinger is a JavaScript teacher at Treehouse. He’s passionate about building scalable, data driven web apps, especially ones that address old problems with new tech! Before Treehouse, Hedinger co-founded and led GraphAlchemist, a firm providing web development, analytics, and data visualization to startups, medical researchers, and Fortune 500 companies.

Anyone who is interested in web development as a profession – regardless of the framework, the library, or language – will find that JavaScript efficiency is a must have skill.

JavaScript is all about interactivity, and it brings with it a richer and enhanced user interface to the virtual table. It facilitates real time data applications, and message applications. This language can be found in browsers, servers, and smartphones.